Thursday, March 19

KeyArena & Husky Stadium Discussed

KING-TVs Chris Daniels gives the lowdown on the state legislature's hearing on the funding for Husky Stadium and KeyArena, held yesterday in Olympia.

And while the Washington State cranks were out in full force with their nonsensical rantings about "unfair advantages" for the UW (hey, Wazzu fans, tell you what; if the Huskies agree to not accept funding for Husky Stadium, will you agree to not accept any funding for WSU? Yeah, didn't think so), there was some positive news for those hoping to see the state act on funding KeyArena's renovation.

The cunning way the bill's sponsors included arts funding and other projects along with the funding for the Key has enabled it to capture the mind of King County Council Chair Dow Constantine, and sponsoring senators Ed Murray and Jeanie Kohl-Welles also testified in support of the bill.

Unfortunately, Rep. Margarita Prentice, who chairs the House Ways and Means Committee, indicated she was less than enthused about the bill's prospects (she was more enthusiastic about Husky Stadium), but did not rule out the possibility of it getting through.

Of strategical note, because the Key's funding would come from the local hotel/motel tax and not from the state, any monies spent would not be included as part of the state's massive, $9 billion deficit. Of course, that's semantics, and a savvy politician would point out that any money raised by the tax could be going to build roads, pay for teachers, and other such frivolities.